


Come Up to Meet You

by Thebigbadwolfandlittlered



Series: Science and Progress Do Not Speak as Loud as My Heart [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, M/M, Mentions of alcoholism, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), but they're working on it, steve is kinda sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-20
Updated: 2016-06-20
Packaged: 2018-07-16 03:20:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7249921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thebigbadwolfandlittlered/pseuds/Thebigbadwolfandlittlered
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony ends up in the hospital and it's the first time Steve has seen him since the Accords. He wants to apologize, but Carol seems to be making that a lot harder than planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Come Up to Meet You

**Author's Note:**

> This won't make much sense without reading the first part so I recommend doing that!
> 
> But holy shit, the first one got a lot of love and a lot of people were asking for a second. So I did it!
> 
> Thank you guys all so much for commenting, that's probably the biggest reason I wrote the next part and there will probably be more if this gets as much love!
> 
> I love writing Steve and Tony in this universe and it really gives me confidence when you guys tell me you love it too.
> 
> (And you can follow me on tumblr @chrisevansbulge.tumblr.com!)

Steve closed his eyes as he reminded himself not to run through the hospital hallway. He forced himself to walk a normal pace as he searched for the room number Natasha had told him to look for. He was about to walk down one hallway when his hearing picked up a familiar voice.

“Don’t give me any sedatives I’m an alcoholic!”

Steve frowned and turned to walk that way. He stopped just short of the room where he couldn’t be seen by anyone inside. God how did this happen?

* * *

**Five months and two weeks earlier.**

 

“This is Steve Rogers.”

“Steve, did you order anything here?”

“T’challa?”

“Yes, I’m looking at a box shipped to the facility.”

“I don’t understand how that’s possible, no one knows where it is.”

“Well, it’s clear you did not send it.”

“What’s in it?”

“We scanned it but it’s in a case that is protected from such intrusions. We’re opening it now.”

Steve heard the sounds of people faintly talking and the box being opened. Then he heard silence.

“What is it?”

“It appears to be an arm. Metal and with full instructions on attachment.”

“Who in the hell sent it?”

“It is signed off with a T.S.”

More silence.

“I’m going to have to call you back.”

* * *

 

**Present day.**

 

“The hell you won’t let me see him! I’m his sponsor!”

Steve kept his back to the noise that was happening at the nurses station. Glad he got to avoid that. He thought it was for someone else entirely until he heard more shouting.

“Hey! Captain asshole!” He closed his eyes and cringed. A friend of Tony’s. “You can’t let him in and not me, at least I actually like Tony.” He clenched his fists but didn’t turn around. Another nurse must have waved her through because she thanked someone then came over and stood in front of him before pushing him away from the room. She was stronger than she looked but he wouldn’t have moved unless he choose too.

Once they were far enough from Tony’s earshot she finally spoke.

“Get out. Go home. Go do whatever asshole ‘heroes’ do.” She used her fingers to make quotes. He clenched his jaw.

* * *

**Four months earlier.**

 

“I gotta tell Thor to stop sending you Asgardian mead.”

“Hi Sam.”

“How drunk are you?”

“He still hasn’t called me.”

Steve was holding onto his cellphone like a lifeline.

“Pretty drunk than.”

“I- I told him if he needed me- that I’d- I would-”

“Steve, buddy, I know you don’t want to hear it but maybe he doesn’t need you.”

“He’s gotta have somebody- he- he broke up with Pepper.”

“Did he?”

“Yeah.”

“He told you that?”

“Yeah.”

“And you want him to call you?”

“Yeah.”

“You want him to need you.”

“Yeah.”

Silence.

“No! That’s not- I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Then how did you mean it?”

Quietly. “I don’t know.”

“You need to figure it out, man.”

* * *

**Present day.**

 

“He’s my friend. I want to make sure that he’s okay, I need to make sure he’s okay.” Steve just wanted to talk to Tony. He didn’t know what he was going to say, but he would figure it out. Maybe. If he didn’t talk himself back out of it.

“Oh that’s real funny. You care.” She ground her teeth and looked away before looking back and speaking in a low and harsh voice. “Well where were you when Pepper left? When Tony was basically assaulted by a civilian outside an elevator? When she made him feel like her son’s death was on his hands?” Steve couldn’t even look at her.

“Where the hell were you when Tony quit drinking? When he found out about his parents? You didn’t think for one second that maybe he needed help? That he needed a friend to talk him off that ledge? He just saw his parents killed in cold blood and someone who said they were his friend was lying to him for fucking years-”

“Carol.” Steve froze even further at the voice. He couldn’t even look at Tony who had somehow made it out to the hallway.

* * *

**Two months earlier.**

 

“Another million dollar donation was made to the research for Bucky.”

“I heard.”

“Do you know who it is?”

“Don’t you?”

“Why don’t you call him?”

“Nat-”

“You stare at that phone an awful lot for something that never rings.”

“I am fully aware it doesn’t ring.”

The words came across harsh, mean almost.

“You’re not the same.”

“Are any of us the same?”

“No, you’ve changed.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

“Well, it doesn’t seem like it was for the better.”

She left as quickly as she came and he felt as hollow as ever.

* * *

**Present day.**

 

“Sir! You need to get back into your bed.” A nurse was quick to usher Tony back.

“Carol, he’s fine. Get in here, they’re trying to keep me overnight!” Tony was yelling at he was being forced into his room and Carol quickly moved to follow. Steve did too after a second of hesitation.

“No one gave you anything in here?” Carol asked as she stood on the side of his bed where a nurse wasn’t.

“Nah, automated message from Friday.” Tony looked a little annoyed being back in his bed but now that Steve looked at him, he didn’t look good. The right side of his face was bruised and it looked like his ribs were wrapped.

“I don’t know what I was thinking sponsoring a damn superhero. This is stressful. They almost didn’t let me in.” Carol pushed Tony’s hair back off his forehead. He leaned into the touch a bit but still rolled his eyes. “Turns out someone listed me as their emergency contact.”

“Just because I know you make great medical choices.” Steve never thought he’d live to see the day Tony Stark blushed.

Steve suddenly felt a burning jealousy of Carol. He wanted to touch Tony like that. He wanted to be his emergency contact.

He wanted to be Tony’s friend.

* * *

**One month earlier.**

 

“You’re back early, I’m assuming it went well.”

“What went well?”

“You went to talk to Tony didn’t you?”

“I really don’t want to talk about this right now, Clint.”

“Did you talk to him?”

“No.”

“Chicken out?”

“There was no chicken. No talking. No visiting.”

“Looks like Cap woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.”

“Clint-”

“You two are handling this like-”

“I said I didn’t want to talk about it!”

Silence.

“Did you catch the game last night?”

Steve sighs. “I’m gonna go to bed.”

“I’m just trying to help.”

“I know. But I don’t think anyone can right now.”

* * *

_“I can do this all day.”_

* * *

**Earlier that morning.**

 

“ _Iron Man is fighting hard but seems to be alone in this battle as he noticeably has not been seen with any Avenger since the Accords seven months ago-_ ”

“Should we help?”

“Do you mean should you help?”

Wanda turned off the TV.

“I just feel like I should do something, he’s our friend.”

“If he needed us he’d ask.”

“Tony was never good at asking for help.”

“He’s not the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s... better. He’s changed.”

She left. Steve turned the TV back on.

“ _-being loading into an ambulance now, Iron Man seems to have taken a hard hit but he has won this fight._ ”

* * *

**Present day.**

 

“Can you give me a second?” Tony was looking up at Carol with a look that Steve couldn’t read, but she apparently could.

“I think that’s a horrible idea-” Carol seemed upset but like she knew what would happen.

“Carol. I’m fine. I can handle this.” Tony smiled up at her in a reassuring way.

“I don’t support going back to the hostile ex-boyfriend.” Steve couldn’t help but cringe at that. Awkward silence set in. “Fine! Fine, I’m going.” As she walked away she shot Steve a glare that he had never seen directed at him before. “Don’t fuck up. I will kick your ass back into the fucking ocean if I need to.” With that she was gone and it was just him and Tony. He kept his eyes to the floor and said nothing.

“Why are you here?” Steve finally looked up and saw Tony looking at him.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay.” It sounded weak in his own ears.

“I think it might be a little late for that,” Tony shook his head and closed his eyes; leaning his head back.

“I think I should go-” It was a mistake coming, he never should have.

Tony just laughed.

“You know, for a long time I told myself that everything that happened was my fault. That I should’ve know how you’d react and I should’ve planned around it. That I could’ve stopped this.”

“And now?”

“Now I think you’re at fault just as much if not more than me.” Steve felt anger rise up in him. He quickly pushed it back down and collapsed into a nearby chair.

“When did you quit drinking?” That topic seemed… safer.

“About nine months ago.” That got Steve’s attention again as he looked up at Tony in shock. The Accords were seven months ago, and Tony didn’t even drink. And Steve didn’t even know. He didn’t know about the drinking, about Pepper… maybe he was never really Tony’s friend.

“There’s a lot I don’t know about you.”

Tony chuckled at that. “This is where I’d say, ‘here’s your chance to learn more’.”

“But?” He felt hope rise in his chest and he quickly pushed it back down.

“But, looking at you is like getting a hole carved into my chest. And at one time I might’ve been ashamed to say this, but I’m not ready. I’m not ready for you to just walk in here and sit down like seven months ago I wasn’t cringing away from you with fear of decapitation.”

Steve tried to swallow but he couldn’t past the lump that was there.

“I gave you a phone to call when you were ready but you never were.” Steve was quiet. Part of him hoped Tony wouldn’t hear him.

“You gave me a phone and a shitty patronizing letter.”

Steve closed his eyes and put his head into his hands. That’s not- he didn’t mean for it to come across like that.

“Tony,”

“Don’t. There’s, there’s too much happening right now. For the first time in a long time I’m happy. I’m at peace. I don’t want to debate the accords with you. I don’t want to join the runaway Avengers or whatever it is you’ve got going on. I just want to live my life. Go to work. Sleep normal hours. I’m not in a place where I can figure us out.”

Steve and Tony had never once been anywhere near a relationship. So why did this feel like a breakup?

“Figure us out?”

“I don’t want to figure _that_ out either. More like I can’t, I’ve got more playlists then I know what to do with and I still don’t know the answer to that.”

They were both silent and looking away from each other. The room was full of Tony, Steve, and the crippling emotion of pure devastation in his stomach.

“Steve…” Tony’s voice sounded not quite broken, but tired. He sounded so tired and Steve couldn’t help but look up at that. Tony was looking at him with so many emotions all at once. Sadness being one. Regret another.

“I’m not saying I’ll never talk to you again. I just- I need time. I need to figure more of myself out before… we figure ourselves out.”

Steve nodded and stood up. He headed for the door. There was nothing left to say. Not today.

“And Steve?”

He turned back with so much misplaced hope, and he prayed that Tony would take it all back. Funny how you understand what you want when you can’t have it.

“You need to figure yourself out too.”

Steve just opened the door and left. It hurt to leave Tony behind in a way it hadn’t before.

“Hey-”

He didn’t want to deal with Carol right now but he stopped. He didn’t turn towards her just kept his back stiff and face forward.

“Tony was fighting today because a team of trusted people thought it was best he did.”

The Accords were still in action. Tony had signed them.

“They originally thought it needed a team of two. It came up that in a perfect world they would've sent you with him.”

In a perfect world Tony wouldn’t be in a hospital and Steve would be by his side.

In a perfect world.


End file.
